


Never enough (time)

by MFLuder



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Gen, M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Pre-Slash, Season/Series 07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 01:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14842866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MFLuder/pseuds/MFLuder
Summary: “I wish I’d met you sooner.”





	Never enough (time)

**Author's Note:**

> [300 word tumblr fic](http://mf-luder-xf.tumblr.com/post/174486674619/hey-if-youre-up-for-it-and-if-someone-else) inspired by the prompt “I wish I’d met you sooner.” Written for novemberhush.

The morning Steve didn’t make it to work on time, when Danny had to call him, surprised to hear sleep deepening Steve’s voice – that’s when it began.

When Steve told him about the radiation poisoning, it was so cavalier, so casual in acknowledgment that though Danny was concerned, he’d learned to adopt some of Steve’s nonchalance for Steve’s injuries.

The lethargy got worse. Steve catnapped in the office, struggled to stay awake on stakeouts. More often than not, when they drank a beer after work, Danny would end up wrapping a blanket around Steve on the lanai or dragging the heavy, six-foot something former SEAL up the stairs to his bed.

One night Danny resisted pulling himself away from the comfort of Steve’s arm over his shoulder, only to be awoken later to the sounds of him heaving into the toilet. Desperately grateful eyes made Danny’s own stomach churn as he brushed back damp tendrils of hair that stuck to his partner’s forehead.

He stayed the rest of that night, staring at Steve’s chest moving up and down, cataloging each shade of purple under his eyes, the new gauntness to his cheeks, the way his fingers clutched Danny’s borrowed Navy tee.

Now he sits beside the hospital bed, a pale, thin-skinned hand in his.

“I wish I’d met you sooner,” he whispers. “I wish we had more time.”

“Don’t,” a voice croaks.

Reaching for the water cup, he asks, “What do I tell Grace? Charlie?”

Blue eyes, greyed from sickness but still expressive, framed by lashes that appear longer, more stark, gaze at him unblinking.

Steve lifts their clasped hands, brushes his lips against Danny’s.

“We were good. It couldn’t last forever.”

“I thought Super SEALs were invincible.”

The joke falls flat.

He kisses Steve’s forehead and lets him sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow and chat with me [on tumblr](http://mf-luder-xf.tumblr.com)!


End file.
